18 November 2006

A Little More about Lindencroft Farm

The other little thing I wanted to touch on about Lindencroft Farm is how Linda has a lot of plants that are not edible, but which serve as “habitat” for the beneficial living creatures on her farm. For the hummingbirds and the bees and the rest of the zoological world.

I inquired about a row of cages that were planted in empty holes in the ground, and she told me that a hedgerow was going in there, for habitat. They are pictured above.

There are herbs and flowers and all manner of plants, some useful in a culinary sense (rosemary, for example) and others not (such as dahlias and daffodils). Many were absolutely teeming with bees, and a handful of hummingbirds were duking it out over the Mexican sage. (What would one call a flock of hummingbirds? Good question! Answer: a “charm” is most commonly cited, but I also found these upon Googling: a troubling—that hardly seems fair!, a hover, a chattering, a shimmer, and a drum.)

Another view of Lindencroft Farm, taken on August 7.

Linda answered my question of how four cats co-exist with all the bird feeders.

The cats at the farm have an electric wire at the top of the fence: they don't climb out and raccoons don't climb in, and they seem to have their kitty hands full with rodent control. I've only had two dead birds in two years at the farm. The kitties in the backyard have an inverted floppy flap of fencing at the top which means if they want to climb over the fence they would have to learn how to climb in an up-side-down position.

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Pictured here: the ravishingly dense carrot tops at Lindencroft Farm.

If you haven't yet read it, Kim Severson (oh how I miss her coverage of the Bay area in the Chronicle) writes in the New York Times about "Why Roots Matter." Snippet: “[A Portland, Oregon woman's] reach for [leafy greens] grown on smaller farms close to home is
part of a larger trend that food industry analysts say is gaining
ground among consumers who are willing to pay a little more for quality
food. As a result, people who grow food on small farms or make
artisanal cheese or other foods on a more regional scale are finding
new eaters.”

Read it before it becomes premium content. (Curse the NY TImes for that—why not be freer with your information like the Chronicle, whose archives are open to the public? Does knowledge have to be for sale?)

(Thanks to Michael Ruhlman and Rail Paul for the heads up.)

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Yesterday, I discovered a blog that is an absolute treasure, courtesy of Heidi Swanson. Harris Salat is a well-traveled food writer whose research and prose are delectable. And he's been blogging since May of 2005 at He Ate Well. I bet you add it to your blog roll: I fell in for an hour yesterday, mesmerized by the thoughtful content. Thank you, Heidi!

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Today is BUY LOCAL DAY. I'll be visiting both of the farmers markets in the county today.

There is a good piece over at GristMill about one farmer’s return to his roots: written by Shepherd Bliss, a former employee at McDonald’s, who examines the environmental cost of food. The piece is called “Fry Away Home.”

Nice piece at New West about organic farmer Jon Tester, who was elected last week to the United States Senate.

JONATHAN:
You know what they do right? They create a really good market for corn.
That's what the American agricultural economy is based on, is finding a
home for corn. That's why, when you go to the fast food outlet, you get
corn syrup in the soda, corn oil in the French fries...

And hey, remember The Hunger Site? You click, and they donate food. They've changed some things: you can shop and your purchases result in bigger contributions. Excellent.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: “As the days grow short, some faces grow long. But not mine. Every
autumn, when the wind turns cold and darkness comes early, I am
suddenly happy. It's time to start making soup again.” — Leslie Newman

Well, in my case, a pot of flageolet beans are bubbling away, with mire poix made with one of the Purple Haze carrots Linda Butler sent home with me.